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Rosario Dawson in NBC's Gemini Division Just Might Be a Hit

I just finished watching the first two episodes of the new NBC Web Series Gemini Division. It's an intriguing story that's already got me convinced I'll be watching all of the next 48 episodes slated to be released, something I never quite thought I'd say about a Web video play by NBC.

The Web video play is also intriguing on a number of levels, as it's clear a whole lot of thought and savvy has been put into the release of the series, and that NBC is out to make a statement with it: We don't need a community distribution portal, we'll bring the viewers in to us.

Sure, they're putting the series out on Xbox Live and "a few other various platforms" they don't care to mention in the press materials, but it's very clear that they intend for the show to be viewed primarily on NBC's video portal, and it's a tool to get visitors used to the idea of watching Web video at NBC.com, as opposed to places they may be currently used to like YouTube.

Intentionally Low-Budget LookWhile the series had a $2 million production budget, the eagle eye of the Internet video audience will catch obvious production quirks meant to trigger the low-budget, indie producer spark in their mind. The entire series was filmed on a green screen set with professional grade lighting and high definition cameras. It's clear, though, that in certain spots low-resolution backgrounds were used, which stand out against some very sharp anti-aliasing between the subject and the background.

Similarly, in the scenes that break away from the second-person perspective of Rosario speaking to her PDA, two camera coverage is used; these scenes are brief, and only those with a savvy eye will notice it. For the most part, the show has the feel and vibe of a LonelyGirl15.

The low-budget feel is a bit of a farce, though, since the acting, directing, scripting and post-production is otherwise top-notch. Rosario completely drew me into the character and the story immediately after I hit play and the video properly buffered. The product placement and futuristic gadgetry is incredibly obvious but somehow unobtrusive. In short, this show is a professional piece of work and by and large isn't in your face with the monetization.

I'm guessing once this series takes off, we'll end up seeing this model used to finance future productions on a much wider scale.

A Unique and Sensible Way to Finance Production

I actually first learned about it when I was on the plane from Houston to Austin for the SummerMash event earlier this month. For years, I've had the habit of always picking up a copy of Wired Magazine any time I travel by plane, and Gemini Division received a feature length writeup in the hard copy of the magazine. Wired's Frank Rose covered a wide array of details in the piece, but what interested me the most was the way the show was financed. In the beginning of the piece, he said:

Sure, the YouTube explosion was fueled by amateurs, but it will be showbiz professionals who cash in on Web video. That's because most big corporate advertisers want a safe, predictable environment — not the latest YouTube one-off, no matter how viral.

And later, when he talked about the financing of Division, he explained that the production company Electric Farm at the time hadn't decided on NBC as the distribution outfit yet, but had moved towards other financing options:

Meanwhile, [Electric Farm CEO Stan] Rogow has been talking with Cisco and a handful of other companies about another way to make money: Product placement. As a Buck Rogers-style serial set "five minutes in the future," the show presents many possibilities for tech companies. Dawson's smartphone, for instance, is the aperture through which we see the entire series. She talks urgently into the device throughout each episode, sending the feed to someone — we don't know whom — and occasionally holding it up to capture what's going on around her. It's a prominent branding opportunity for any handset maker willing to plunk down the money.

Of course, at the time of Wired's press, Electric Farm wasn't disclosing who those advertisers were, but on the first two episodes, the product placement advertisers appear to be Microsoft and Cisco. The story is told with the vehicle being video emails sent from a mobile device.

Remember those Cisco ads we ran on Mashable Conversations ("Pete Cashmore here. What's your biggest pet peeve about online video...")? Cisco's placement in Gemini is a perfect fit for the campaign they ran with us and other videobloggers, as they're focusing on the future of online and personal digital video. When the device 'boots up' for a new missive from Rosario, it shows a Cisco logo in the bottom right for a few seconds.

Similarly, the Microsoft involvement is both seamless and appropriate. At the beginning of the second episode, a combination of some sort of futuristic Windows mobile operating system that segues into a drill down approach of Paris, France (using the Microsoft Live maps protocol) showcases many existing and future possible features of mobile mapping services. The only thing missing from the placement is the little icon that we used to run on our mobile posts saying "this sponsored post powered by Windows Mobile."

This Isn't Just for the Hollywood Pros...

The fact that I recognize all the placement sponsors so far and add to that have been sponsored by them here at Mashable under these very same campaigns tells me that these advertisers are accessible. If they're accessible to the likes of me, that means this style of sponsored production is easily attainable soon for the common indie producer, contrary to what Frank Rose summized that this is going to be a boom only cashed in on by the Hollywood veterans.

Certainly, it didn't hurt that there was a laundry list of Hollywood success stories signed on for this project, but this whole operation took place outside of the entrenched Hollywood studio system. NBC ended up distributing this piece, but it could have easily been any number of other highly trafficked portals.

For the work that's been put into what looks like a very interesting storyline (not to mention a companion alternative reality game), I'd hate to see NBC's gambit harm the viewership numbers for this series. They are doing a few things that us old New Media hands would consider very wrong in the distribution of this series: It isn't being released in video podcast form, only the first four videos will be available for remote embed, and the distribution platform looks to be exclusively NBC's Web video portal.

This could end up being the rare case where a solid production ends up carrying the numbers through to respectable levels for NBC, but they could have done so much more in terms of return on investment and increased visibility had they chosen a more portable and open distribution strategy for this series.

Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Aside from all the industry analysis, it's a great show, and I've embedded the first two episodes here at the bottom of this post. Take about six minutes and watch them both, and I'm sure you'll be hooked as quick as I was.

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